There are only a handful of days in my life in which I can recall specific hour-by-hour details. My wedding to Jeremy, the birth of my three children, and Sept 11, 2001. I was home with my 11-month old son watching the Today show. They interrupted programming and Katie Couric began talking about the small plane that has crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. As we were watching it Live, the second plane hit. I will never forget hearing Katie’s voice quiver and say, “Oh my God, we’re under attack.” I can’t imagine how she must have felt knowing she was just minutes away from that attack and still having to stay professional as a reporter. I think maybe because I watched the second plane crash Live, it really hit me harder than if I had heard it on the radio or watched it later on the news. I felt like I was living it with the rest of the country right at that moment.
I immediately called Jeremy to see if he had heard the news. Although he hadn’t yet heard what happened, after I explained the details, he said he knew who was responsible. He told me about this Taliban leader by the name of Osama Bin Laden. I couldn’t even remember that name seconds after he told me. I actually kind of dismissed his theory given the fact that he hadn’t even seen the coverage yet. Turns out my husband was right, as usual.
After the towers collapsed and a few hours went by, I had to get my eyes off the television. I decided to go do something more uplifting and go to the party store to get my son’s birthday party ready. Although it was still a month away, that’s all I could think to do. As I drove, there wasn’t even one radio station playing music; it was all coverage on the attack. I put in a CD, but couldn’t listen to music for some reason. I just turned off the radio and drove in complete silence. There were very few cars on the road for a Tuesday afternoon. It was evident that the State shut down. I rolled down my window for some fresh air; it was a beautiful, warm day. It was so quiet. I couldn’t figure out why it was so quiet. Then I finally noticed, wow, for the first time in my life, there were no airplanes above me. As I drove, I watched the faces of others driving…they were very stoic. When I made eye contact with people, we just looked at each other with an common benevolence. It was very surreal. When I got home, I just stayed glued to the television the rest of the night.
I know that the intention of the terrorists were to divide us as a country, and although it’s created more inconveniences, it really just brought us closer. Since this tragic event, I’ve become a patriotic person, which I never was. I never thought I’d be someone that really loves my country, and now I finally understand and appreciate the freedoms we enjoy. Even more so after seeing my brother risk his life in Afghanistan protecting my freedom and the future of my three children.
[pictured here with Governors of Utah and Oregon]
Below are pictures of “Healing Field” in Sandy, Utah. There is one flag for every person who lost their lives on 9/11. The flags also have the names written within the stripes. It’s a great tribute and quite overwhelming. This is from last year but they are doing it again this year and I plan on going again later this afternoon. I bought one of the flags and sent it to my brother in Afghanistan and he hung it up in their “lounge”. He fortunately came back safely last month after 18 months of service. No matter how I feel about the current war and the many lives lost, I will always support our troops and will always be proud to be an American!
